OHIO STATEWIDE FILES OH-FOOTSTEPS Mailing List Issue 206 *********************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net/ *********************************************************************** OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest Volume 00 : Issue 206 Today's Topics: #1 History, Hamilton County ; Anderso ["Maggie Stewart" To: OH-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <0caf01bfe3aa$7b0c1c80$0300a8c0@local.net> Subject: History, Hamilton County ; Anderson Twp pgs 242-254 (1) Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Tina Hursh frog158@juno.com April 15, 2000 Transcribed by Kym Pitman *********************************************************************** Anderson Twp pgs 242-254 *********************************************************************** History of Hamilton County Ohio with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches. Compiled by Henry A. Ford, A.M. and Mrs. Kate B. Ford, L.A. William & Co., Publishers; 1881. Pages 242-248 ~pg 242~ ANDERSON. BOUNDARIES AND TOPOGRAPHY. Anderson, the southeasternmost township in Hamilton county, and the only one of this county lying east of the Little Miami river - that is, in the Virginia Military district - is bounded on the south by the Ohio river, on the west by the Ohio and the Little Miami, on the north by the latter stream, which divides it from Columbia and Spencer townships, and on the east by a line drawn from the southeast corner of fractional section numbered twenty-two, in Columbia township, or from the mouth of the East fork of the Little Miami, south of its intersection with the Ohio at the mouth of Eight Mile creek. By this line it is separated from Clermont county on the east, and is the only township of Hamilton which immediately adjoins Clermont, without the intervention of a stream. The greatest length of the township, about nine miles, is on this line, but the length of that portion of the Little Miami that touches Anderson township is very nearly the same. The other sides, being bounded altogether by the Ohio and Little Miami rivers, are exceedingly irregular in their boundary lines; but the township, varying from the breadth of a few yards at its northeasternmost and southeasternmost points to its greatest breadth of six and a half miles on an east and west line from the mouth of the Little Miami, has an average width of five miles. Its area is equivalent to nearly thirty-seven sections, or twenty-three thousand five hundred and seventy-one acres. A large part of this tract, on the west and north sides of the township, lies in the broad, flat, and fertile valley of the Little Miami, upon which the site of Newton lies, and near which, in a commanding position, Mount Washington sits upon the hills, easily overlooking a broad view of the valley. The general level of the hilltops in this township is high, Mount Washington being five hundred feet above low-water mark in the Ohio, and other heights almost as lofty. One or two points in this township are said to be the loftiest in Hamilton county. The ancient plateau of this region has been deeply cut through, not only by the greater waters of the Ohio and the Little Miami, but by several small streams, prominent among which is Clough creek, with its two principal headwaters or branches taking their rise, respectively, in the eastern and southern parts of the township, uniting east of Mount Washington, and flowing thence in a general northwesterly and westerly course to the Little Miami below Union bridge. Its valley and the bordering hills are exceedingly picturesque, and comprise many valuable farms and fine farm buildings. Five Mile creek is another stream of some local importance in the south of the township, likewise formed by the junction of two headwaters, one rising a little northeast of Cherry Grove, near the county line, and the other just south of the Ohio turnpike, a mile and a half west of the same place. They unite their waters - like Clough creek, also receiving a very small stream near their point of junction --about a mile north of the Ohio, and after a westerly and southwesterly course of some two miles, reach that river about midway of its course along the southern border of the township. Three or four minor tributaries of the Ohio also aid in breaking down the hills on this side of the township, the highlands here, as in Columbia and all the river districts of Cincinnati east of the old city, crowding closely upon the river, and leaving scarcely room enough for the wagon-road long existing there and the track of the projected Ohio River & Virginia railway. A few rods above the mouth of the Little Miami a petty stream sets into that river, bearing the name of the noted creek that ploughs through the western hills of Cincinnati - Lick run. Three other brooks, more or less ramified toward their sources - two of them bearing the names, respectively, of Little Dry run and Big Dry run - feed the Little Miami at various points in the township above Clough creek; and channels or mill-races of some size, in two instances, connect points on the river northeast, northwest, and north of Newtown, thus virtually forming islands of two and a half to three miles in circumference, which nearly adjoin each other just opposite Plainville, and about a mile due north from Newtown. It is a remark- ~pg 243~ ably well-watered township, pleasingly diversified in its surface, and valuable in the capabilities of its soil and other products. Besides the natural features of Anderson which vary its topography, its broad surface is further intersected by the Batavia turnpike in the northern part, which takes Union bridge and Newtown on its way; the Richmond turnpike on the extreme south, passing California and hugging the river closely until its exit from the county, shortly after which it trends rapidly northeastward; the Salem and Ohio turnpikes, also in the southern half of the township, the latter passing through Mount Washington and Cherry Grove; a number of other good wagon roads; the Cincinnati & Eastern narrow-guage railway, along the valley of the Little Miami, by Newtown, in the north part; with a branch from a point a mile and a half east of Newtown, running up the valley of Dry run, to a point due east of Mount Washington, where it leaves the township; and the Cincinnati & Portsmouth narrow-guage railway, cutting the southern and eastern parts in an exceedingly tortuous line, as compelled by the broken country, from the crossing of the Little Miami southwest of Mount Washington to the departure from the township and county considerably to the northward, near Mount Carmel, in Clermont county. As well as the nature and demands of the township will permit at present, it is served with means of transportation; but. other railroads have been projected, as that already mentioned along the Ohio. ANCIENT WORKS. The observations of an intelligent man, who saw the mounds and other ancient remains in this region in the early day, must ever be of interest. The following remarks were made by the Rev. Philip GATCH, who came to Anderson township in 1798, in his autobiographic sketch: This beautiful land has been a hidden space to civilization for many ages. There are traces in many parts of ancient fortifications and other works which could not have been made by the Indians, but by a people much further advanced in civilization than they now are. The growths of timber upon these works, consisting of mounds and elevated embankments, seem to be the same as on the ground generally, which shows their great antiquity. What people or race constructed these works is not now known, and probably never will be. Some think these formations were before the flood; but this notion, it appears to me, is refuted by timbers being found in the earth to a great depth. I saw timber that was found on digging a well on high land; also by salt water shells being found in high places. Nature is a grand laboratory, and it is ever in progress--imperceptible it may be to the eye, but its doings are marked by centuries. The process of change in the natural world is ever in progress. Much later, but still so far in the past as to lend some special interest to the narrative - in Mr. E. D. MANSFIELD's Monthly Chronicle for August, 1839 - one "T. C. D." (said to have been Timothy C. DAY) gave an interesting description of the works as they were to be seen in his time: In perhaps no portion of this State are these gigantic vestiges of an unknown and populous age so abundant as in the alluvial bottoms and adjacent neighborhoods of the Miami. They are to be met with at almost every step, and in groups so numerous that the eye can scarcely embrace their number. Mounds of every description, size, and shape, circular forts, embankments miles in length, and of great size, point out the immense labors and workmanship of a mysterious people. Allowing for the probable absence of the requisite implements for their erection and the washing of their friable soil for centuries, they may be truly reckoned as successful rivals to the greatest of their prototypes of the sandy plains of Egypt. Some are even so stupendous that, were it not for the evident signs of human mechanism that mark their construction, they might claim the impress of a mightier hand. About a mile east of Newtown, in this county, on the farm of Levi MARTIN, is a mound of the largest class. Its shape is an oval oblong, rounding to its apex with the most perfect accuracy. It is situated on a shelf of land about thirty feet above the alluvial bottom of the Little Miami. The soil around it is gravelly, but the material of its structure, as usual, is a brick clay. Near its summit is a large beech, probably two feet in diameter, and its sides are covered with a thick growth of Underwood, with several large forest trees. It is within three hundred yards of a high range of hills, and could not, therefore, have been erected as a watch-tower or a place of defence. It has never been opened, but the most probable conjecture is that it is the monument of some mighty chief, who lies interred in its centre. The plain around its base is perfectly level, except within twenty feet of what was probably its original circumference; the washing of rains has filled it up to a considerable height. The dimensions of the mound, from actual admeasurement, are as follows: Circumference at the base.................................6oo feet. Width at the base...............................................15o feet. Length at the base.............................................250 feet. Perpendicular height...........................................40 feet. covering an area of about an acre. Last summer the workmen, in procuring gravel for the Batavia turn- pike, immediately in the rear of Newtown, in the bank of a small stream called Jennie's run, disinterred an immense number of human skeletons. This ancient burial ground is on a gravelly point that juts out from the bank into the run, forming an acute bend. The graves are not, on an average, more than two feet in depth, though probably they were originally a great deal deeper, as the ridge has evidently washed to a considerable degree. As far as caved, the point is a solid body of coarse gravel till within about two and a half feet of the surface, which is composed of sand and loam. The skeletons lay in the sandy stratum, between the gravel and earth; and so far as preservation is concerned, it has answered the purpose well. Whole anatomies have been exhumed in an excellent state of soundness - the teeth particularly, some of them, as white as ivory, and perfect in every respect. Forest trees, such as beech, sugar, and oak, some at least two feet in diameter, were growing immediately over the graves, and their gnarled roots twisted fantastically through the skulls of these remnants of an ancient people. A fall of gravel would frequently leave bare the whole front of a grinning skeleton, seemingly thrust in the grave feet foremost; and, in fact, the whole of the bodies bore evidence of a promiscuous burial, some placed horizontally facing the west, others level, anon a group of four heads within the space of two feet, and in every imaginable position. About twenty feet from the first discovery of the bones, the workmen came to a large body of charcoal and the remains of a stone fireplace. An earthen vessel was found by some boys, which was broken and destroyed before an actual description could be obtained. Several of the skulls exhibited traces of violence, such as would lead one to suppose that this had been a scene of carnage, and the dead bodies thus furnished a rude and hasty burial. Several curiosities have been found in the neighborhood, such as pipes, earthen pots, and copper plates. Two small limestones, hollowed out from an inch on the outer edge to an eighth in the center, were found in a ploughed field. They are perfectly round, and are very neatly carved, the one about two-thirds the size of the other. The largest is about four inches in diameter. The principal prehistoric monuments in Anderson township, as previously intimated, are found, like those generally in the eastern parts of Hamilton county, in or near the valley of the Little Miami. They are: 1. A large mound in the doorway of the old TURPIN homestead, now occupied by Philip TURPIN, esq., about a mile northeast of the Union bridge, on the Batavia turnpike. Although undoubtedly much smaller than when first heaped, it is now ten feet in height, with a circumference at the base of one hundred and seventy-five feet. It is situated directly in a line between the front gate and front door of the premises, and the foot-way between these points runs around it. It thus forms a com- ~pg 244~ manding and very interesting object in the scene, as viewed by the passer-by on the turnpike. About it is an ancient cemetery, probably not older than the Indian period, however, from which human remains may be exhumed with almost every lift of spade or shovel. Upon the same premises, it may be here remarked, was the camp of TOD's company of independent scouts, for some time during the MORGAN raid and scare of 1863. It was, although bearing an "independent" name, a regularly organized command under the leadership of Captain WHEELER, and named from Governor TOD, then at the helm of the State. While here it did considerable scouting, marching, and countermarching, but was not called upon to burn much powder in the face of the enemy. The marks of its occupancy are yet to be seen in the boards and fences gnawed by the horses, in the stabs of bayonets upon the house-doors, and otherwise. Some distance south of Union bridge is a rather curious old brick school-house, situated below the roadway to Mount Washington. It was built in 1847, and is still used with tolerable convenience for the needs of the sub-district. 2. Nearly a mile and a half across the hills from the TURPIN homestead, and about three-quarters of a mile south of Newtown, in the valley of a small tributary of the Little Dry run, on colonel JEWETT's farm, is a large mound. This reaches fifteen feet in altitude, and is two hundred and twenty-five feet in circumference at the base. It is further in the interior than any of the important tumuli of this part of the valley. 3. In Newtown itself formerly, immediately before the old Methodist church, at the junction of the Plainville road with the Batavia turnpike, was a mound of size enough to make its removal worth while for the sake of the material, which was used in the construction of the Plainville highway. We do not learn that any specially noticeable relics were discovered in the process of removal. 4. Near this spot, east of Newtown, and on the line of the Cincinnati & Eastern railroad, is the Odd Fellows' cemetery, in which is a beautiful mound of ten feet height and a base circumference of two hundred and ten feet. It is a very appropriate mark and ornament of the cemetery. 5. A tumulus existed until recently on the Plainville road, three hundred yards northwest of the cemetery mound. It was about seven feet high and one hundred and fifty feet around at the base. It was thoughtlessly and remorselessly removed two or three years ago, simply to fill hollows in the road; and in the process of removal sundry bones, pieces of charcoal, and other objects came to light, unmistakably identifying it as an artificial work and a veritable relic of the Mound Builders. 6. Southwest of both of these, on the bank of the Little Dry run, on the "first bottom" of the Little Miami, and at the foot of the hill cut by the Batavia turnpike, was a mound which was destroyed when that road was built, and some bones and other relics were found in it, as described in the article of "T.C.D." 7. A few score yards due south of this site is an artificial eminence of about three feet high - much reduced from its ancient height by the long processes of cultivation upon it, its surface having been annually plowed over for many years. Its site is upon the Levi MARTIN estate, south of Little Dry run. 8. Upon the same property, three hundred yards south of east from the last mentioned, is the "Big Mound," as it is familiarly known. Says Dr. METZ, in his article on "The Pre-historic Monuments of the Little Miami Valley" (Journal of the Cincinnati Society of Natural History, October, 1878): This is the largest mound in this vicinity, and in the country. Its present elevation is about thirty-nine feet, with a circumference of six hundred and twenty-five feet at base. It has been cultivated for the last thirty years, with the exception of the last two years, and is now overgrown with blackberry bushes. It was at one time covered with forest trees. A large oak on its top had a diameter of four feet: this I have from reliable authority. It has not been explored; the proprietor desires to let the dead rest, as he expresses it. 9. Recrossing Little Dry run nearly half a mile north of east, we come upon two low mounds, near the Batavia turnpike - one five feet high and the other three and a half above the general level. 10. North of these, across the turnpike on the estate of William EDWARDS, is a scattered group of four mounds, but nearly in a line from east to west, with an average distance from each other of two hundred feet. The easternmost of the four is in the first bottom of the Big Dry run, and but a few yards west of that stream. It is excellently preserved, very regular in its form, eight feet high, and about eighty feet in diameter at the base. Upon an elevation of thirty to forty feet above the level upon which this mound stands - that is, upon the second terrace or bottom of the Miami valley - are the other three mounds. The two in the centre of the group are each about four feet in height; the fourth, or westernmost, is ten feet high, and has a circumference about the same as that of the mound at the foot of this terrace. The smaller tumuli were once, very likely, as high as this; but they have been plowed over annually for a long time. 11. Two miles northeast of this group, almost in the northeastern corner of the township, on the farm of Michael TURNER, is another very interesting series of ancient works, consisting of one large and one smaller enclosure and four mounds. The large enclosure, north and west of the Cincinnati & Eastern railroad, which, together with a small stream, passes between this and the other members of the group, is designated as No.1 upon Dr. Charles L. METZ's chart of the pre-historic monuments of the Little Miami valley; the smaller enclosure, about a fifth of a mile north of east of the other, and the northernmost of the four works east of the Cincinnati & Eastern track, as No. 2; the two mounds next south of this, in order, as Nos. 3 and 4; and the eminence east of No. 3 as No. 5. This explanation will render intelligible the following description, which is extracted from Dr. METZ's article accompanying the chart, in the journal of the Cincinnati Society of Natural History, for October, 1878: No. 1 is the largest and most interesting work in the Miami valley. An extract from an article by T. C. DALE, or DAY, on the antiquities of the Miami valley, published in the November number of the Monthly Chronicle, in 1839, is as follows: "The site of this stupendous fortification, if we way so call it, is a few rods to the right of the road lead- ~pg 245~ ing from Newtown to Milford, and about midway between them. It is situated on a ridge of land that juts out from the third bottom of the Little Miami, and reaches within three hundred yards of its bed. From the top of the ridge to low-water mark is probably one hundred feet. It terminates with quite a sharp point and its sides are very abrupt, bearing evident marks of having once been swept by some stream of water, probably the Miami. It forms an extremity of an immense bend, curving into what is now called the third bottom, but which is evidently of alluvial formation. Its probable height is forty feet, and its length about a quarter of a mile before it expands out and forms the third alluvial bottom. About one hundred and fifty yards from the extreme point of this ridge the ancient workmen have cut a ditch directly through it. It is thirty feet in depth; its length, a semicircular curve, is five hundred feet; and its width at the top is eighty feet, having a level base of forty feet. At the time of its formation it was probably cut to the base of the ridge, but the washing of the rains has filled it up to its present height. Forty feet from the western side of the ditch is placed the low circular wall of the fort, which describes in its circumference an area of about four acres. The wall is probably three feet in mean height, and is composed of the usual brick clay, occasionally intermixed with small flat river stone. It keeps at an exact distance from the top of the ditch, but approaches nearer to the edge of the ridge. The form of the fort is a perfect circle, and is two hundred yards in diameter. Its western side is defended with a ditch, cut through the ridge in the same manner as the one on the eastern side. Its width and depth are the same, but its length is greater by two hundred feet, as the ridge is that much wider than where the other is cut through. The wall of the fort keeps exactly the same distance from the top of this ditch as of the other, viz., forty feet. Its curve is exactly the opposite of that of the other, so as to form two segments of a circle. At the southeastern side of the fort there is an opening in the wall thirty-six yards wide; and opposite this opening is one of the most marked features of this wonderful monument. A causeway extends out from the ridge about three hundred feet in length and one hundred feet in width, with a gradual descent to the alluvial bottom at its base. The material of its construction is evidently a portion of the earth excavated from the ditches. Its easy ascent and breadth would induce the belief that it was formed to facilitate the entrance of some ponderous vehicle or machines into the fort. To defend this entrance they raised a mound of earth seven feet high, forty wide, and seventy-five long. It is placed about one hundred feet from the mouth of the causeway, and is so situated that its garrison could sweep it to its base. The whole area of the fort, the wall and causeway is covered with large forest trees; but there is not a tree growing in either of the ditches, and there are but a few low underbrush on their side. At present the circular wall is almost leveled, but can be readily traced by the color of the soil and the large number of flat river-stones. The ditches can be easily recognized. The mound is still prominent. It measures now in height five and one-half feet, diameter twenty-five yards, circumference seventy-five yards. The causeway is cut through by the Cincinnati & Eastern railroad, the forest cut away, and the soil cultivated annually. No. 2 of this group is a large, circular embankment, with a diameter of about one hundred and twenty-five yards. The material forming the embankment is evidently taken from within the enclosure. This work is a perfect circle, with an opening or gateway thirty feet wide to the south. It is about three hundred yards distant from the first work of this group. Two hundred yards to the south of this circle are two mounds, No. 4 on chart being the larger. It has a circumference at base of two hundred and fifty feet and an elevation of twelve feet. One hundred and fifty yards east of these mounds is another of very regular shape (Group D, No. 5, on chart); height, four feet, circumference one hundred and fifty feet. Members of the Madisonville Scientific and Literary society have done much excellent work in the survey and description of the works in this part of Anderson township; and to the chart and accompanying article, of Dr METZ, of that society, we acknowledge invaluable aid in preparing the above notice. -----Continued in Part 2----- -------------------------------- End of OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest V00 Issue #206 *******************************************